Gradient Investments LLC Raises Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,581 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 3,440 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BX. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.65.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:BX traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $138.87. 2,433,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,785,726. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $135.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.41. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $101.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.